Children of the Night, You're Grounded: Vampire Primes Short Story

by Susan Sizemore

  She glanced back at Laurent, but went with Brian to the computer set-up.

  Laurent stepped back toward the open door, appreciated the evening breeze as it rushed inside, crossed his arms, and waited.

  People spread out, meters and recorders in hand. Readings were taken, questions asked of the darkness. The various screens lit up with data and pictures showing the place in infrared. Laurent could do that too, but he refrained from using any of his extra-mortal senses. He simply enjoyed what he could view of all the blinking, beeping, buzzing, and rippling lines filling the screens. And Rachelle Burke's attention as Brian January explained what it all meant and told her stories of the team's efforts to debunk as well as find proof. It was all going quite well, Laurent thought.

  But when were the twins going to get in on the act?

  After a few minutes, Burke excused herself to January and came back to Laurent. Like all the ghost hunters, she carried a small digital recorder.

  "Are you immortal?" she asked.

  "Nope," Laurent answered.

  "Are you the man in all those photos?"

  "Nope." He had promised her he would tell her the truth, so he was fudging a bit here, but he was Prime, not a man.

  "A lawyer for your family contacted me today. I do not take kindly to--"

  "Well, you wanted to talk to a blood sucker. A lawyer is the best we can manage for you."

  "Are you a vamp--?"

  "Hey, Rachelle, look at this!"

  Her reaction to Brian's call was instantaneous. The force of their attraction was tangible to Laurent. She hurried to the boss ghost hunter's side.

  Laurent sighed with relief. Because he saw the darkness filling the old warehouse starting to move, take shape. A horrible moan issued from everywhere and nowhere. Alarms on detectors went off. Lines of data jumped and spun on computer screens. Ghost hunters called out readings, asked questions, turned their cameras on detected movement, raced off to explore the huge old dark building.

  Shadows shifted, formed into almost human shapes, dissipated like puffs of smoke, flowed and formed again. Moans, screams, shouts, knocks and bangs filled the air with eerie sound.

  Get out get out get out!!!

  The unspoken words pressed against Laurent's ears. Cold fear ran up his spine. For a split second he almost ran away, but since none of the ghost hunting team made for the door, the vampire stayed where he was. And remembered this was all his idea.

  The girls were good, and being far more subtle than he'd thought they'd be.

  Laurent wasn't sure how long the haunting lasted but eventually the darkness calmed down to simple night once more.

  The SDPES members gathered around the computers. The disciplined group began reeling off data readings and recording personal impressions.

  Burke stalked up to Laurent. "You almost ran. I was watching. You were scared."

  "Hell, yes," Laurent said. "I don't believe in ghosts. Didn't." He glanced at the door. "I'd still be happy to get out of here."

  "Did you stage this?"

  "How?" He waved a hand at the SDPES team. "These guys know when something's staged. Look at them. They're having kittens their so excited about this, and they professionally don't believe in ghosts."

  "They're working with..." She shook her head. "No. Brian would never jeopardize the group's reputation to fake a haunting."

  "No he wouldn't. He's an honest guy, doing good work." Laurent hesitated for a moment, then added, "He could use a seasoned, thorough investigator's help"

  "Someone like me?" She was sarcastic, but he could tell she was interested.

  "Exactly you. Hunting for ghosts makes more sense than hunting for vampires." He stepped close to her, whispered, "Certainly safer, Ms. Burke." His physical presence drew a gasp from her, a tiny ripple of fear went through her. He stepped back. "Of course I mean you'll be safer from lawsuits and restraining orders and such."

  She looked at Brian January. He was busy going through computer data, but he looked up and smiled at her before returning to work.

  "It really happened," she said, growing very thoughtful. "A ghost appeared."

  "Seemed to appear," Laurent said. "It needs to be investigated. You're good at that."

  She nodded. "I am. All right Wolf. You win." She walked toward Brian, and a whole new career.

  Laurent sighed with relief, and slipped out the warehouse door.

  "Was it fun?" Laurent asked when he reached the little car parked in a convenience store lot miles away from the warehouse. They were seated on the hood. He crooked a finger for them to join him on the ground.

  They smiled and giggled as they jumped off the car.

  "A lot of fun," Celeste said.

  The other girl was more serious. "You're going to tell us not to do it again, aren't you?"

  "Do you want to do it again?" Laurent asked.

  Celeste opened her mouth.

  Ariadne spoke first. "No."

  "But...!"

  "Lady Juanita would consider your picking on mortals like that wrong. And dangerous to the Clan if the haunting was traced to you. You don't want Lady Juanita upset with you." That was the stick. Laurent now added the carrot. "if you want to go back to your high school anything soon."

  "You can talk great grandmother into letting us go back?" Ariadne asked.

  He nodded. The girls looked at each other. They nodded to each other, then to him. If shadows gathered around all of them out of the night for a moment they all pretended not to notice. Laurent led the twins away from the parking lot.

  When they were hidden by a line of scrub trees and bushes behind the store Laurent told them to sit down. He put a hand on each girl's head, closed his eyes, and thought. His job was to get into their minds and sever the ghostly loop.

  It wasn't easy.

  The minds of teenage girls were scary places. And this pair was particularly mentally strong. He had a headache within moments. Then the music hit him, a deafening, numbing cacophony. What the hell did kids listen to these days? Laurent almost pulled out, but he'd promised to help the twins.

  A little help here! he called out to them.

  Sorry! echoed through him from different voices that were the same.

  He followed the sameness, eventually finding a black thread binding the pair together. It was mostly made of protectiveness, although anger and jealousy were braided in as well.

  He formed a silver knife from his thoughts.

  Ghost hands tried to grab hold of him.

  Laurent laughed. And cut the thread.

  Both girls whimpered, but the sounds overlaid each other rather than vibrating as one.

  "Okay, we're done here." Laurent said the words as a veil of blackness faded from his vision. He stood. He hadn't known he'd fallen to his knees.

  The girls jumped up as well. They looked all bright and eager and raring to go. Whereas Laurent was wasted. Youth sucked, he decided.

  "I feel...better," one of them said.

  "Me too," said the other.

  "Good for you," Laurent said. "Go home. That's what I'm going to do."

  He was going to return home and make love to Eden the rest of the night and into tomorrow.

  And hope to the Goddess of the Moon that the best sex in the universe would serve to drive all these damn pop songs out of his head.

  Available for Christmas 2014!

  PRIMAL RECALL

  A Novel Set in the Vampire Primes Universe